Sheffield Steelers old boy poses ‘hell’ of a threat

Mike Forney scores for Sheffield against the team that pursued him in the Summer, Belfast Giants. Pic: Dean Woolley

Published:21:39

Share this article

Steelers’ assistant coach Darrell Hay admits Sheffield will have their hands full when they face Mike Forney this coming season.

The 27-year-old American quit the champions this Summer to join Belfast Giants.

And Hay is under no illusion that he will be difficult to contain. “Mike is a hell of a player and hell of a teammate. He will be a tough player to play against and a tough guy to game-plan for” said Hay. “I wish Mike all the best in the future. That’s the hardest part of a team when you do win. You just know that other teams are going to covet your players. At the end of the day, that’s life in hockey.”

Forney joined Sheffield last year after a spell in Austria and America.

He was the South Yorkshire side’s second top scorer, behind linemate Mathieu Roy.

He scored 81 points in 69 games - more than enough to put the Irish on alert.

* Sheffield Steeldogs coach Greg Wood has signed 29-year-old right winger Slovakian Stanislav Lascek, who played three games for them last season, scoring a goal and five assists.

He was a draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning and has scored goals in the AHL and ECHL and netted 41 goals for the MK Lightning the season before last.